2011 in a nutshell

Well there's been rather a long gap since my last post! Oh dear.
Here are some highlights from the many celebrations of 2011:

April - celebrating the Royal Wedding with Ali

July - guests at Jenny & Kevin's wedding

July - Jenny & Kevin on their happy day

August - celebrating Jen's 30th birthday

who ya gonna call?

Before . . .





. . . and after!

family photos

Eric and Jen

Ryan

got cheese?

Well here's a handy-sized bag of grated cheese!

Even with all of this splendid cheese to choose from, I managed to just say 'no'.

I love cheese.

goose

I fed the ducks today.

There were a few ducks, but mostly they were geese. I was brave enough to hand feed the geese - letting them eat from the palm of my hand.

In previous goose encounters, I've been too scared that they might peck at my fingers very hard in a big old goosey way, but today I faced my fear and did it anyway!

However my triumph was short lived, as a park ranger came over to ask me to stop feeding them, because bread is very bad for ducks and geese. I think I knew this already, but I hadn't totally grasped how much of a problem it is for the birds and for their habitat.

So . . . no more feeding the birds with bread then.

Who's going to tell the geese though?

Super fitness is my dream!

After my mexican food fiesta, I was in dire need of some exercise.

So, with my intrepid companion, I set off on a journey of exploration.

At last, we reached a worthy destination . . . the park!

Apparently, climbing through holes for fun and fitness is something I've been doing for years now - and with pink hair too!

mexican food fiesta

Once upon a time . . .



I packed my little bags,

went for a ride on a very big plane,



and then stuffed my face with a big, fat burrito.

What a very happy day that was!

Huzzah for Mexican food!

The earth moved

We had a little earthquake in the UK and I actually felt it. After having slept through previous quakes in California, I had assumed that I was somehow immune to their effects. But this quake woke me up! I wasn't really sure what it was, but just went back to sleep anyway.

I'm glad that this was such a minor tremor. I'm grateful that I don't live in one of the many other parts of the world which experience far more powerful earthquakes.

Family photos

I got a new camera for Christmas . . .

A very happy day

What a happy day this was! It started with my favourite kind of breakfast at Janet's Montana Cafe. The veggie scramble was perfect, the potatoes were delicious and there was even some homemade peach salsa. I did attempt to share the salsa with my breakfast companions but somehow I ended up accidentally scoffing the lot - oops!

Then after some snoozy time just sitting in the sun, it was time for a hearty walk. This meant a short stroll through a new neighbourhood . . . and a chance for me to have a peek at other people's homes and gardens. I do so enjoy a good old snoop around, even if I have to stay on the outside of the fence.


The hearty walk got a lot heartier as we climbed up what seemed to be a very big mountain. I tried my best, but I'm definitely not as fit as I should be. Maybe this is connected to my total lack of exercise and ongoing love affair with the sofa?

I finally made it to the top. Even though it was almost Christmas, I wore a hat to keep the hot sun off my face and was plenty warm enough in my festive t-shirt.

When we got back home again, it was time for hot tea and more food.
I love food.

In the evening we went for a lovely walk around an extremely festive neighbourhood. Almost every home was decorated. The themes range from traditional Nativity scenes, to SpongeBob Squarepants (a popular cartoon character), but somehow it all comes together as a lovely event which is shared by the local community and visited by lots and lots of 'outsiders'- like us.

Then it was time to head for home, fortified for the journey by my favourite Mexican food. Once the food was ready, there just wasn't time to stop for photos - so here's a picture of the aftermath instead.

Huzzah for Christmas, for sunny days and for Mexican food!

I took this photo of burnt trees in California. I wonder how it would look if I made it black and white? Maybe kinda scary?

The River Wild


With my intrepid companion, I set out to find the source of the River Nile . . .

Super fit in San Francisco!



I hired a bike and cycled over the Golden Gate Bridge - and back again! It was loads of fun!